Put Off The Old, Put On The New, Part 2

”Put Off the Old, Put On the New, Part 2” (Ephesians 4:25-32)

Introduction: Last week we saw Paul’s exhortation to put off the deeds of the old man and to put on those of the new. The Lord in regenerating us, implanted within us the principle of new life. Whereas before there was only a will in us to do that which is sinful, we now have the desire to do that which is pleasing to God. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that your old nature has been done away with, and you have been made new creatures. Because of this reality you are commanded to put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh which remain and to live in the righteous deeds of the new nature. The Bible often illustrates this as the changing of a garment: putting off the filthy rags of sin and putting on the clean linen robes of righteousness. In this morning’s text, Paul begins to give us some specific sins to ”put off” and the corresponding righteous behavior that we are to ”put on”. And what the Spirit is saying in this text is, You are a new creation in Christ and your life is to reflect this by putting off the old practice of sin and putting on the new practice of righteousness.

I.

Put Off Falsehood, And Put On Truth (v. 25). A. Do Not Lie, But Speak the Truth to One Another. 1. You have put off falsehood. a. The word is most frequently used of religious falsehood. b. It is literally translated ”the lie.” c. You have laid aside the lies of Satan. d. Satan is the father of lies, and his children speak lies.

2. Now you are to continually speak the truth. a. It is required that those who are children of the light dwell in it. b. You are commanded to speak only the truth with one another. c. This does not mean speaking whatever is on your mind. d. But it does mean that we don’t speak what is false as though it was the truth. B.

Because 1. You a. b.

You Are Members of One Another. are a part of the same body of Christ. There is one body. But there are many members.

2. This makes you members of one another. a. You are a part of a larger organism. b. You do not live only for yourself. c. Whatever you do affects the other parts of the body. 3. You must take the same care for the other parts as you

would for yourself.

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a. The Scripture says no one ever hated his own body. b. He cares for it and nurtures it. c. You too must care for the body of which you are a part. Put Off the Unrighteous Use of Anger, And Put On the Righteous Use (w. 26-27). A. It Is Not A Sin to Be Angry. 1. Anger is a reaction produced in response to an action or situation. a. Anger must be distinguished from hatred. b. Hatred is a sinful response of anger. c. Anger must be for the right reasons.

2. Anger is not sinful in itself. a. The Scripture tells us that Jesus became angry. b. But it was a holy anger because God’s holiness had been violated. 3.

B.

But it is to give us the additional strength to face that situation. a. Anger is one of the emotions which the Creator endowed us with. b. Its use has been perverted by the fall. c. You must sanctify the use of anger.

But It Is Sinful to Let that Anger Become Bitterness. 1. Be angry, but stop sinning. a. They had not sanctified the use of anger. b. They allowed it to seethe until it became bitterness. c. Bitterness is like poison in the soul. (il It is like a root in the soil of the heart. (iil It suddenly springs up and defiles many. (iiil It is a plant bearing evil fruit.

2. Stop letting the sun go down on your anger. a. This is how bitterness begins. b. When the situation which causes the anger is not dealt with, it creates bitterness. (il The anger gives us greater energy. (iil It is to deal with the situation. (iiil If it is not dealt with, the anger continues. (ivl If it is misdirected sinfully, it breeds bitterness.

c. You are to deal with the situation before you allow yourself sleep. (il Once you let the day pass, you will probably not deal with it. (iil And if it isn’t, it will leave some amount of resentment. (iiil This is the root the Bible warns you of. 3.

Stop giving the devil an opportunity! a. Resentment and bitterness are strong weapons in the

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b. c. d. e. f. g.

III. A.

B.

hands of the devil. He will do every thing in his power to tear down the work of God. Every time you allow bitterness to fill your heart, you give him an opportunity to strike at the Lord’s church. You must stop giving God’s enemy the chance to destroy His work. You must pull the root of bitterness out of your heart. You must not even give it the chance to be planted. You must ask forgiveness when you’ve wronged, and forgive when you have been wronged.

Put Off Stealing, And Put On Giving (v. 28). No Longer Take that Which Does Not Belong to You. 1. If you take anything that does not rightfully belong to you, that is stealing. 2. If you are a thief, you are to put off that sinful practice. Rather You Are to Work So that You Can Give to Those in Need. 1. You are to labor the good with your own hands. a. Not working evil by taking what isn’t yours. b. But doing what is good: i.e., a legitimate occupation. c. Not taking what others have earned by their labors. d. But earning something with your own labors.

2. So that you may minister to those who are in need. a. So that you may have something of your own to give to help those in need. b. David said he would not give to the Lord something that cost him nothing. c. When you give to the poor, you are lending to the Lord. d. He will repay you for your kindness.

IV.

Put Off the Sinful Use of the Tongue, And Put On the Righteous Use (v. 29). A. Do Not Tear Down With Your Words. 1. You are to stop letting evil speech come from your mouths. a. The word means rotten, decayed. b. Evil speech includes slanderous talk, lies, words used as weapons. c. It is lashing out to do harm with your tongue. d. It is also speaking the truth in an untimely way or with a hurtful motive.

2. Don’t underestimate the destructive power of your words. a. The power of words is very great. b. All of you have probably been the victim of someone’s seething anger. c. At one time or another you have been the brunt of someone’s jokes. d. You have probably been slandered behind your back. e. You know how much those words hurt and damage you.

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f. You also know how much those words color another person’s opinion of you. g. Evil speech tears down the body of Christ. B.

But Use Your Tongue to Build Up Your Brothers and Sisters. 1. Evil speech is condemned, but good speech is commended. 2. Good speech ministers to needs. a. Your words can be used for the good of your neighbor. b. They can encourage the downcast. c. They can comfort the hurting. d. They can exhort to godly behavior. e. The can correct those in error. f. They can minister grace to those who hear. 3.

V.

Let your speech be seasoned and seasonable to strengthen your brothers and sisters. a. Do not tear down with your words. b. But use them to benefit your family here.

Put Off Grieving the Spirit, And Put On Obedience to Him (v. 30). A. Disobedience to the Law of God Grieves the Spirit. 1. All of the above are infractions of the law of God. a. Speaking the lie: false witness (9th Commandment). b. Unrighteous anger: murder (6th). c. Stealing (8th). d. Speaking evil (9th). e. James says to break one of these laws is to be guilty of all.

2. To break God’s law brings grief or pain to the Spirit. a. The Spirit is the One who sealed us to the day of redemption. b. The Spirit Himself is the seal. c. He dwells within the believer. d. To sin is to sin against Him and grieve Him. B.

On the Other Hand, Obedience Is His Delight. 1. The Spirit delights in your obedience. a. Remember that the Spirit is a person. b. He is God and therefore infinitely righteous. c. Righteousness reflects His image. d. He therefore delights in it.

2. He is the Spirit of Holiness and He rejoices in it. a. As God He is infinitely holy. b. And so He rejoices when you live a holy life, a life separated to God, a life that reflects His image. 3.

If you are a true believer, you will delight in obedience as well. a. Your desire will be to please the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. b. It would truly grieve your heart to know that you have brought grief to the One who loves you so much.

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VI.

Finally, Put Off Hatred and Its Fruits, And Put On Kindness (VV. 31-32). A . Do Not Hate One Another. 1. You are to put off the fruits of hatred. a. Bitterness. b. Wrath. c. The sinful fruits of anger. d. Wicked shouting and clamor. e . S1ander/bl asphemy. f. And all malice. 2. Put them all away from you. a. Repent of them. b. Flee from them.

B.

But Be Kind to One Another. 1. Instead you are to put on kindness, and tender-heartedness. 2. You are to freely forgive one another. a. God is held forth as our pattern. b. He freely forgave our sins in Christ. c. Jesus said when we pray to ask God to forgive our debts as we have forgiven others. d. Is the way you forgive the way that you want to be forgiven by God? e. So become kind and tender-hearted, and forgive as God forgave. f. For this is acceptable to Him.

Conc1usi on: A. If you are in Christ, you have all the strength you need to do what God commands. 1 . The power which raised Christ from the dead is at work in you. 2. The Lord has raised you from spiritual death to life. 3. He has given you a heart that desires obedience. 4. If you are His you will want to and you will obey Him. 5. And if you are His you will continually grow in conformity to the likeness of Christ. 6. Is is not just the putting off of sin; it is also the putting on of righteous behavior. a. We usually focus on the first. b. The second is entirely neglected. B.

But if you are not His, you may be able to reform your life outwardly, but you cannot change your heart. 1 . A leopard cannot change his spots, nor the Ethiopian the color of his skin. Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil (Jer. 13:23). 2. Only the Lord of Life can give life to a soul that is dead in sin. 3. If you are not growing in holiness but going deeper into the abyss of sin, turn to God and plead for His mercy, call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved! 4. And then do all in your power to turn from your sin and

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to live unto righteousness, to put o f f the old and put on the new. Amen!